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Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#151

Post by morsch »

EasyMark wrote: post #146
morsch wrote: post #119

PSA if you want to upgrade to these from snap (and I would encourage you to do so), do your research: Ubuntu likes to replace installed debs with snaps without consulting the user and you need to configure it not to do so. And the profile folder for the snap is in a different place than for the deb, so make a copy of it etc. I'm not going into full detail as these things are easily found via Google as long as you're…

If you uninstall the snap, it's not going to overwrite your firefox installed from this deb. Never had it do anything like that unless you are upgrading to a major new release and then it disables ppas, so I suppose it might happen at that point, but most people don't do major upgrades that often, if you do then it's on you to keep track of them because that's just the way that Ubuntu handles it

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2022/04/how-to-install-firefox-d...

Step 5: Set the Firefox package priority to ensure Mozilla’s Deb version is always preferred. If you don’t do this the Ubuntu transition package could replace it, reinstalling the Firefox Snap:

This happened to me and it wasn't as part of a dist upgrade.

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#152

Post by khobragade »

mardifoufs wrote: post #74
khobragade wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're already done by the Debian people.

Yeah but that's not necessarily a good thing. Packaged browsers from a package repo don't have the best track record. I mean they are fine but there's a reason why some want their packages to come from the people who actually made the software especially in this case. Does the ESR Debian package support updates without asking for restarts? Granted it matters less for esr but if it avoids the issue , why not.

> there's a reason why some want their packages to come from the people who actually made the software

Not necessarily either. Think of the Audacity fiasco. We were very comfortable using the Debain package but not their Flatpack and obviously not the snap. I realise I'm replying to a subtext but the context is the same.

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#153

Post by [deleted] »

rst wrote: post #120
khobragade wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're already done by the Debian people.

Well, some Debian derivatives have been moving to .deb alternatives for the current browser -- snap or flatpak -- which may be the reason for them creating "official" .debs for recent releases. (Experience with the snap and flatpak versions has been ... less than completely smooth for some users.) Not sure that's the case for the ESRs yet.

[deleted]

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#154

Post by Aissen »

sfink wrote: post #59
Aissen wrote: post #33

I have been using Mozilla builds of Firefox on Linux for years, and they tend to just be higher quality. They talk about the performance engineering that goes in the build process briefly, but IMHO stability is also improved. It's also updated on restart (see the About window), so you never get issues because changing the libs that can be dynamically loaded right from under a program is never a good idea. My only wis…

I see linux/aarch64 builds at https://treeherder.mozilla.org/jobs?repo=mozilla-release&sea... so it seems like they exist. Maybe they aren't packaged for apt?

They are packages by distros, but not considered a tier 1 platform by Mozilla.

I didn't see those builds on your link, only android/windows/osx aarch64 builds, what am I missing ?

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#155

Post by hnarn »

Timber-6539 wrote: post #137
hnarn wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m well aware of that. How is that in any way relevant to the question I was asking?

apt-get install will automatically download and install the deb for you.

Are you insinuating that this would not happen with the instructions from Firefox?

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#156

Post by hnarn »

Timber-6539 wrote: post #138
hnarn wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counting “steps” is inane to begin with. Those could all be done with a one-liner, does that make it one step?

You could do this with a one-liner I suppose, but the Firefox guide still gives you 7 steps to accomplish something apt will do with a single command.

You are either trolling or you have a very fundamental lack of understanding for what those seven steps actually do and how package management works.

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#157

Post by Timber-6539 »

hnarn wrote: post #155
Timber-6539 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

apt-get install will automatically download and install the deb for you.

Are you insinuating that this would not happen with the instructions from Firefox?

Not unless you create an automated script for the instructions. Am strictly picking on the guide.

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#158

Post by Timber-6539 »

hnarn wrote: post #156
Timber-6539 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could do this with a one-liner I suppose, but the Firefox guide still gives you 7 steps to accomplish something apt will do with a single command.

You are either trolling or you have a very fundamental lack of understanding for what those seven steps actually do and how package management works.

Am simply saying the alternative to doing this is a "one-click" apt-get install. Not sure why you have your panties in a twist.

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#159

Post by account42 »

Karellen wrote: post #99
maxloh wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are a web developer, you would better develop your app using the latest dev tools and targeting the latest web specifications only. Most companies don't prioritize legacy support, so there is no point in developing for Firefox ESR.

> Most companies don't prioritize legacy support, On the other hand, the more legacy you support, the larger your potential customer base is. Also, if everyone else in the sector only supports the most recent release of only two browsers, you might have that extended customer base all to yourself. > you would better develop your app using the latest dev tools and targeting the latest web specifications only. That is…

> OTOH, if you were using it on hardware where it ran like a dog for you from the 3rd sprint, you'd probably have got round to making the changes for it to be acceptable on that era platform.

Or perhaps even made saner choices in the first place rather than rambling about "premature optimization".

Re: Mozilla's new Firefox Linux package for Ubuntu and Debian derivatives

#160

Post by jillesvangurp »

Tijdreiziger wrote: post #114
Dalewyn wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see a problem waiting for alpha- and beta-testing to finish first before the new code is distributed to actual normal users . Note, the "normal users" you describe are involuntary testers who got forced into the role because keeping testers on the payroll is so last century.

The voluntary testers are the Firefox Nightly and Firefox Beta users, not the Firefox stable users.

I've been using the beta channel for ages. Never has been a problem for me. The stable channel is stable as advertised. It's rock solid. ESR is not so much about adding even more stability and more about just guaranteeing long periods without any changes whatsoever in order to cut down on testing cost that big IT departments have for any kind of change.

Insisting on an ESR release on what is effectively a poorly supported type of operating system where every install is basically a snow flake that heavily relies on it's users being able to fix all sorts of weird issues (i.e. every Desktop Linux distribution ever) is a bit weird and overly selective.

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